


Gay Bar

by unknown_knowns



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Chloe has some unresolved issues to work through, Drinking, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gay Bar, Implied Dancing, Masturbation, Partying, Post-Canon, Sacrifice Bay, Sexual content is implicit in first chapter, Slice of Life, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, but it is there, but it's pretty fluffy by the end, casually romantic, explicit second, first time drinking, sex is not the focus of the story, victoria is background bff with max
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-10-31 21:41:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10908000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknown_knowns/pseuds/unknown_knowns
Summary: Nothing can go wrongwhen your girlfriend turns 21and you get her to drink and go to a club for the first time.





	1. Party

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, friends.
> 
> I honestly don't know. I had this idea and it kind of morphed into an exploration of Chloe's character. So. That's what you get. 
> 
> This is somewhere between fluff and angst. It does end happily, though.
> 
> Also, as always, I love comments!
> 
> [You can find me on tumblr.](https://unknown-knowns-ao3.tumblr.com/)

Max calmly breathed in and out.

Relaxed.

She could hardly feel herself, anymore.

She was weightless.

Some part of her knew that her mouth was gaping open like an idiot.

But most parts of her didn’t care, right now.

She could just ---

_This fire, this fire, desire_

Max groaned inelegantly and miserably as her entertainment system switched from pleasant quiet music to this loud rancorous cacophony of loose drums, shouted lyrics, and distorted guitars.

So much for falling asleep.

She placed both of her hands on her face and let them rest there for a few moments.

She was equally split on whether to get up and totally give up any hope of falling asleep or try and just deal with it.

Thankfully, mercifully, the disruption was only played for a few seconds, and the decision was made for her, as the entertainment system shut off.

That was unideal, but better than it blasting loud punk music.

Loud punk music.

Max blinked a few times and belated realized –

“Shhh. Hey dude. S’ry about the noise.”

Max pulled her hands free from her face and looked up to see Chloe leaning over her.

Max had been laying down on the couch, in the living room.

She frowned for maybe a second or two, but had difficulty staying mad at Chloe for all that long.

“You did that intentionally.”

Chloe raised her hands up and shook her head.

“Nono no – don’t you –“

She shot a hand down, patted at one of her jeans pockets, then the other, until she found her phone and fished it out,

“—You know how this Bluetooth shit works. It connects and plays as soon as I’m in range.”

Max sighed and closed her eyes again, resting against the couch.

She was still pretty tired, and she didn’t feel like she got as much sleep as she usually did before Chloe got home.

Quiet.

Max could feel Chloe’s fingers gently playing with her hair.

“Shhh. Get your sleep. Imma be here all night, dude.”

Chloe whispered it, but.

She was kind of awful at volume control.

It was okay, though.

Max smiled anyway.

Soon enough, with Chloe’s fingers dancing in her hair, and the faintest indications of her breathing hitting her face, Max was weightless again.

 

When she woke up, she managed to feel even worse than earlier, when the stupid music woke her up.

She groaned and sat up, rolling her shoulders and shimmying to wake up sore muscles.

After a few moments, she looked up and towards the kitchen.

She heard some gentle rustling from there.

This apartment wasn’t very big.

So she had no trouble seeing Chloe with two bottles of vodka in her hands, eyeing them intently and studying them.

As though she hadn’t already made up her mind.

But she did have this adorably endearing look of concentration on her face.

“What time is it?”

Chloe startled,

“Jeez ---“

She looked back from the kitchen, eyes wide for a second or two.

Then she just smiled, and put both vodka bottles down on the kitchen counter behind her.

She got up on it to kick her feet back and forth contently.

“Just after.”

Max blinked.

“Just after?”

Chloe nodded, and took a second to genuinely process that Max didn’t know just after _what._

“Oh, um. Ten. Just after ten.”

Max blinked again and looked down at the floor.

No wonder it felt like she hadn’t slept much.

When she looked back up, Chloe was in the living room with her, arms casually crossed.

“What are you doing home so early?”

She then had a worrying thought, about the last time Chloe came home early and was eyeing drinks the second she was.

Max groaned and put her face in her hands again.

“You didn’t get fired or sent home again did you?”

Max looked up, and Chloe had this ridiculous grin on her face, practically from ear to ear.

“No. I didn’t.”

She uncrossed her arms and sashayed towards the couch effortlessly.

Chloe put her hands on her hips, and kept her grin.

Tick, tock.

Normally, Chloe’s grin would have been infectious, but Max was easy to worry.

“What …?”

Chloe hesitated, and canted her head off to one side in an exaggerated manner.

“You don’t know?”

Max hesitated, too.

“Know what?”

Chloe opened her mouth but no words came out.

Eventually she found the presence of mind to close it, and her grin returned.

But it wasn’t warm anymore.

It was wry.

“Dude.”

Max unknowingly canted her own head off to one side,

“What?”

Chloe’s grin got wider, and she raised both of her hands up to shake them by her chest.

“Dude-dude-dude-dude.”

She turned on her heel and walked back off into the kitchen.

Max canted her head off to the other side.

She was too tired for this, right now.

“ _What_?”

Chloe raised up both of the bottles of vodka from the kitchen,

“Dude!”

Max still had no idea what she was on about, and she wore her confusion openly.

Chloe seemed to find it amusing, though, because she just laughed, put the bottles back down, clasped her hands together, and bowed her head slightly.

“Max. Dude. _Sweetie_. It’s your birthday.”

Max blinked.

_Oh._

That explained some things.

Max rubbed at one of her arms and looked away from Chloe.

“Is it?”

Chloe quickly pranced over to the couch again and sat down on it.

She placed both of the bottles down on the coffee table in front of them.

“Yes.”

When Max looked back, Chloe had somehow managed to get an adorably tiny container of glass.

Two of them, actually.

She filled both of them up with some vodka.

“And you are getting _fucked up_ tonight to celebrate! Fuck yeah!”

Chloe finished pouring and gave one of the tiny containers to Max.

Max looked at it, but didn’t take it.

“Chloe …”

Chloe kept her smile, for now, unburdened by Max’s hesitance.

“Dude drink. Come on. It’ll be fun.”

Max just stared at the clear liquid in the clear glass.                                                                                                     

She agonizingly pulled her gaze to look back up at Chloe.

Max wasn’t smiling or grinning with Chloe.

“What’s this really about? You haven’t wanted me to drink before.”

Chloe flinched, slightly.

Her grin cracked in subtle ways.

But she just shook her head.

“Nothing. This isn’t about anything. Things don’t have to be about stuff, you know. We can just enjoy the fact you can get legally fucked-up now.”

Max crossed her arms at this, and frowned.

“You don’t want me using your weed, and you’ve drunk plenty of times without wanting me to. You weren’t legal for most of that either.”

Chloe’s grin cracked some more.

Then it fell away entirely.

Chloe closed her eyes and slowly brought both of the adorably tiny glass containers down onto the table.

She slumped back into the couch and groaned.

“This. It’s about this. You turn 21 and you’re so … worried. About me, about drinking, about everything.”

Max blinked.

“Am I not supposed to worry when you’re home hours early from work? Like --- the last time that happened there were police involved and ---“

Chloe raised up both of her hands and grunted,

“--- I know, I know. Just.”

She sighed again, and slumped forward in her seat.

“Either I ruin your sleep, or I worry you when I try to do something nice, or I be an idiot and force us to move across the country to a place we can’t afford. I know, okay?”

Max slowly uncrossed her arms, so that she could place one of her hands on Chloe’s shoulder.

She shrugged it off at first, but Max just placed her hand right back on until Chloe accepted it was a new fixture.

Max squeezed.

“Chloe, please. None of that stuff bothers me. I just know when something’s on your mind, and you know I don’t like it when you don’t tell me.”

Chloe closed her eyes and had her thumbs fighting with one another on her lap.

Always so full of excitable energy.

“Okay. You got me.”

She breathed in deep and slowly leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees and clasping her hands together.

“We’re wasting away out here, just working to live. After everything that happened …”

Chloe carefully looked towards Max,

“I want you to be happy, you know? I don’t want you to regret …”

Chloe frowned, but didn’t finish the thought.

“… choosing you?”

Chloe nodded and looked back forward.

There were troubled lines of stress on her face.

“So I just thought … whatever … y’know it’d be fun to get out one of these days.” Chloe patted at her lap, “Have one night that you could say, no matter what, that you enjoyed and had fun on. _Something_.”

Max hummed thoughtfully.

It was a pretty sweet thought.

She inched closer and brought her hand around Chloe’s back to her other shoulder.

Her head took the place of her hand on the recently vacated shoulder. 

“Yeah.”

She exhaled deeply.

Chloe breathed out with her, in unison.

Some time ago, Max would have been more awkward with her feelings.

That was before the universe tried to kill her during that hellish week.

Now, though, she knew exactly who she was.

And what she wanted.

She patted Chloe’s shoulder and raised her head back up, bringing it close to Chloe’s cheek.

She closed her eyes and made a sound too gentle and slight to even be called a hum.

But Chloe responded knowingly.

She sat up straight and turned her head to face Max.

Max moved with her every inch.

Chloe’s hands thoughtlessly grasped at Max’s sides.

Max kissed her with the feeling of nails gently raking along her sides and belly.

It was a nice feeling.

The kiss was shallow – more symbolic than passionate – and after it ended they were left to just stare at one another.

Max initiated a few more quick, shallow kisses, before moving back down from the embrace to Chloe’s shoulders.

Chloe was blushing – this seemingly the only way to get her to blush these days – and quiet as she settled back into the couch with Max resting against her.

Quiet.

“I don’t regret choosing you.”

The words were gentle, but the moment itself was quiet.

All of that excitable energy evaporated with meaningful affection from Max, leaving Chloe to just melt into the couch and absorb Max’s words.

It wasn’t the first, second, or even tenth time she’d been told this.

“I … genuinely don’t know what I would do without you.”

This, however, was new information; Max had never felt the need to elaborate before.

Chloe never pressed her on it, either.

They would talk about this when Max was ready to – not a second sooner.

They both closed their eyes and enjoyed each other’s warmth.

“I know it sounds too mushy or romantic or whatever for you but --- seriously. By the end of that week …”

Max sighed wearily,

“There was no one else I wanted to see, and nothing else on my mind. I just wanted you to live… And I wasn’t going to let the stupid universe take back everything I had done.”

Chloe’s mouth was gaped slightly, but not that Max could see it.

She spoke as gentle as Max had.

“Why me? Why us? Why Arcadia? … Why mom? It’s such … ugh.”

Quiet.

“I don’t know,”

Max admitted,

“But I do know that I don’t regret. I would make the same decision now.”

Quiet.

Max nestled her nose along Chloe’s neck.

She giggled tiredly.

“Is this all a round-about way of coming on to me, Caulfield?”

Max smiled gently, herself.

Living with Chloe was learning to live with the mood swings.

And making the most of the high points.

Max kissed her way back up Chloe’s neck to her cheek, before pulling away and smiling more broadly.

“You have no idea.”

Chloe watched Max go and patted at her own lap, before bouncing up into a more up-right seating position.

She hesitated when she saw the bottles still on the coffee table, and picked up both of the tiny glasses again.

“Drink? This time it won’t be about all of that emotional shit. Just about having a good time, now.”

Max chuckled quietly.

Chloe offered one of them again, and Max slowly took it.

She could smell the drink without even bringing it to her nose.

Her nose wrinkled reflexively.

“It smells like gasoline.”

Chloe laughed.

“Vodka, dude. Water and ethanol. Not supposed to smell good.”

Chloe brought the shot up to her nose to sniff at it.

Max wondered why she’d do that with how pungent the scent was from a distance, but decided to imitate her anyway.

The smell being stronger just compelled a shiver out of her entirely body.

Chloe giggled distantly, since she was watching Max out of the corner of her eye.

Max still hesitated, though.

“Are you sure you want me to? You don’t want me in your weed …”

Chloe shrugged, and raised the tiny glass up to drink it entirely.

It almost looked painful to drink with the way her face contorted and she stretched out her body afterwards.

“Fuckin’ … _ahh_. Good morning.”

She put the glass down and looked to Max,

“Weed’s different. Don’t want you to become some shitty burnout like me. Everyone drinks, though, and … most people don’t become alcoholics.”

Max found the trail of thinking to be too self-deprecating and inconsistent to be convincing logically, but.

Chloe certainly felt it to be true.

Maybe that was enough, for now.

Max imitated what Chloe did with the tiny glass, but this was a mistake.

She was not expecting so much liquid coming out of such a tiny container, and some of it spilled onto her shirt and chest.

“Woo!”

Chloe cheered and clapped happily, but.

Max’s mouth was _on fire_ from the horrid liquid and she couldn’t have swallowed any sooner.

Afterwards, she placed the tiny container down and breathed severely, as though naked air would somehow shock the flavor out of her mouth.

“Oh – oh ---“

Chloe raised a finger up and quickly offered Max another liquid in another odd-shaped glass.

At least this one seemed proportioned correctly for humans.

“Not alcoholic. It’ll wash down the flavor. Just some soda.”

Max frowned, slightly – she didn’t drink much soda – but she’d honestly drink anything right now if it’d get the acrid taste out of her mouth.

And a gulp of this soda certainly helped with that.

She put this second glass down and breathed a bit more easily.

Chloe was staring at her with obviously beaming, affectionate eyes.

“What?”

Chloe smiled.

“Have I told you that you’re like, really cute, yet?”

Max laughed.

Chloe was usually really reserved with initiating affections like that.

So,

“You’re drunk!”

Chloe rolled her eyes and scoffed indignantly.

“One shot, dude. That’s not nearly enough for a big strong girl like me.”

Chloe raised both of her arms and flexed them in an exaggerated manner.

Max hummed dreamily and scooted closer to Chloe again.

“Big strong girl like you …”

Max wrapped her arms around Chloe and played with the back of her shirt.

Chloe froze, especially when Max kissed at her neck.

Quiet.

“Caulfield?”

Max just hummed affirmingly.

“Max?”

Max paused her affections to look up,

“Yeah?”

Chloe was looking down and grinning.

“Don’t get too handsy. I wanted to go somewhere.”

Max blinked.

 

\---

 

Max nestled into Chloe’s shoulder again the back of some stranger’s car.

An uber.

“Why can’t we just take your car?”

Chloe didn’t look away from the window she’d been looking at.

“Our car is going to fall apart at any second, for one, and for two, you don’t drive to a club, silly.”

Max blinked again.

“Why not?”

Chloe scoffed, amused.

“You won’t be able to drive back.”

Max hummed thoughtfully.

Still, this seemed inconvenient and expensive, to say the least.

She looked at the dim light of her own phone while quietly enjoying the not-perfume perfume Chloe had put on.

Of the two of them, Max was on her phone far more often.

Talking to people from her past.

She didn’t want to remember Arcadia Bay anymore, but.

She did want to keep in touch with the people who still survived.

Especially her friends.

Oddly, this included Victoria.

Max wasn’t sure how she survived.

Victoria didn’t want to talk about it.

Just as well, Max really didn’t, either.

It was easier to not think about the storm that was entirely her fault.

Max was some kind of weird hate-friend with Victoria.

They had perhaps one honest, straight-forward conversation.

Where Victoria admitted she didn’t want to lose contact with Max, since she was one of the only people who seemed genuinely nice and cared.

Max’s unyielding, nosy compassion brought out all kinds of surprises in people, like that.

Victoria also really, really liked sending daily selfies of her fashion statements.

Max wasn’t a big fashionista, but Victoria always insisted Max would know if something “didn’t work”.

Whatever that meant.

Max received a picture from Victoria via snapchat.

It’d only last a few seconds.

She hummed thoughtfully upon viewing it.

Chloe responded with a questioning hum of her own, and looked away from the window to Max.

“What?”

Max shook her head.

“Nothing. Victoria’s going to a party tonight.”

Chloe blinked and emitted a flat, unpleased sound.

“I still can’t believe you talk to her with how mean she is to you.”

Max sighed.

This wasn’t the first time they’d had _this_ conversation, _either_.

Max was pretty sure Chloe didn’t like _any_ of her friends.

Not that she didn’t have a genuine point to dislike any one of them.

Especially Victoria.

“It’s a defense mechanism. Emotions are hard for her, so she tires to express them in a more comfortable way.”

Chloe grunted flatly again.

Max nestled up a bit closer, put her phone down, and kissed at Chloe’s neck.

“Sound familiar?”

Chloe crossed her arms and huffed indignantly.

“Dude you did not just compare me to Victoria. I’m going to assume you’re just feeling that shot now.”

Max giggled distantly and pulled out her phone again.

Chloe wasn’t looking, so she sent Victoria back a selfie with the two of them.

Victoria replied immediately, with a picture of her gagging.

Max giggled some more.

Chloe looked back to Max, but noticed their driver was sparing them furtive glances.

He realized he ought to say something with Chloe giving him that _look_.

“Um. You two are pretty close for friends.”

Max looked up from her phone and smiled politely.

“Actually ---“

Chloe interrupted Max, though,

“--- You have no idea. We’re so tight it’s not even _funny_. Sometimes I’m just feeling down, yeah? So she’ll just offer to eat me out. We’re _great_ gal pals.”

The driver coughed and kept his eyes on the road.

Max giggled and blushed, thinking about being offended as she usually was when Chloe was so open and vulgar about these things.

But for some reason, she didn’t feel offended, scandalized, or embarrassed.

Just happy. And giggly. 

“Sorry, I didn’t --- sorry.”

The driver’s apology was meek, but Chloe was already done with him and looking back out the window.

Max wondered how Chloe could be so braggadocios in public, to total strangers, yet so reserved and shy about it to Max in private.

Maybe the comparison to Victoria was more appropriate than either of them would have liked.

 

\---

 

Max wasn’t sure what she expected a night club to be like.

But this was pretty much it.

Being scrutinized for being too young at the entrance, fumbling around with getting her “You can give me drinks” bracelet, following Chloe wherever she went, and trying to not look too hard at the curious and colorful folks around them.

Max had wondered why Chloe made such a point of wearing white jeans – when she never did – but it made sense when they were here, finally.

Her jeans were glowing like Christmas lights.

They were enthralling to look at.

For more reasons than just one.

Chloe eventually dragged her over to a bar.

Max couldn’t hear what Chloe said to the bartender or what the bartender said back over the volume of the music.

But after some ritual, the bartender produced three glasses, and pushed two of them in Max’s direction.

She recognized them as being the same kinds of stuff from before – a skinny glass with a clear liquid in it, and a much broader glass with a dark soda in it.

Chloe gave the bartender some money and downed her drink.

Max bit her lip and watched her, once again, consume the entire container in one mouthful.

Max tried to do the same, but once again, she spilled a little onto her shirt.

The smell was no less offensive and the taste no easier to deal with, but at least she knew what to expect, this time.

And she knew to immediately consume the second glass to dispel some of the awful flavors.

Past that point, Chloe got this … look in her eyes, and dragged her onto the dance floor.

The night was a little blurry past that.

She did remember some of the night, though.

She remembered doing shots – she learned they were called shots eventually – with Chloe throughout the rest of the night.

Cognitively she knew she should drink less than Chloe since she was smaller and much lighter, but.

She kind of stopped caring after the second shot.

She knew she _really_ liked the beat of the music here, which was weird, since it was offensively loud and electronic-y.

It wasn’t the kind of music she’d listen to on her own accord.

She knew Chloe’s hands basically never left her the entire night.

And she knew they got progressively more suggestive and sexual as the night went on.

She knew Chloe started to grind at her at some point.

And kiss her in a way that was so forceful and passionate it left them both breathless and dizzy.

She knew they both got sweaty and tired and drained and overwhelmed from dancing.

And that consequently, they both laid down on a platform behind the dance floor.

Just staring at each other.

Chloe had that look in her eyes, again.

The kind of look that she had whenever they kissed.

The kind of look that usually signaled the quiet, reserved Chloe.

She knew she probably should have been embarrassed by a lot, tonight.

Max couldn’t dance.

She didn’t know how to wear Chloe’s affection in public.

She didn’t know how to handle Chloe’s vulgarity about their relationship.

But all of that kind of just went to the wayside after she drank with Chloe.

She was just happy. Giggly. Flirty.

And wow, tired.

Max closed her eyes.

 

\---

 

Max opened her eyes.

She did have an ache in her head, but it wasn’t as severe as she was expecting.

In fact, the ache was more in … the entire rest of her body, probably from all of that dancing.

It made sitting up from her bed --- she was in her bed somehow --- all the more interesting.

She groaned and rubbed at the back of her neck.

She rested her legs off of the side of her bed and considered getting up.

She could just …

Not.

Yeah.

Max slumped back down on the bed and sighed contently.

She felt the bed stirring from the other side.

She turned around to face Chloe.

Chloe usually slept in pretty late, because of how late she had to go to work.

It wasn’t _early_ in the morning by any stretch, but it wasn’t late enough for her to be up, either.

Max closed her eyes and thought about last night.

She kind of hated how little she remembered.

She remembered very clearly the night before she started to drink with Chloe, but…

Once they got to the club, everything just blurred together.

Not satisfying enough to be memories she’d cherish.

But she couldn’t tell Chloe that.

Not with that whole spiel she had before they started to drink.

Chloe needed that night to go well for her own sake.

Max sighed gently.

So that’s what she’d think.

Max was sure she’d remember if it went too awfully, anyway.

When she opened her eyes again, Chloe was staring at her wordlessly.

She almost jumped, but mostly because of how unexpected it was.

“Chloe.”

Max said it just shy of a gasp.

Chloe smiled gently.

“Maxaroni and cheese. How was last night?”

Max smiled as warmly as she could and settled in a bit close to Chloe.

Chloe wrapped an arm about her back thoughtlessly.

Max breathed into her shoulders and neck.

“Pretty good, I think. I didn’t think I could dance.”

Chloe chuckled so gently,

“That’s because you can’t at all, dude.”

Max frowned at this, but Chloe chuckled again and placed a kiss at the top of Max’s head.

Max knew this was significant, since Chloe rarely initiated affection, even if she was quick and eager to return it.

“But it’s okay. Dancing poorly and not caring is as hot as dancing well.”

Max hummed thoughtfully at Chloe’s words.

“How’d we get back here?”

Quiet.

Chloe breathed a harsh breath onto Max’s hair.

“You don’t remember.”

Her words were harsher and more accusative.

Max slowly realized she had probably said the wrong thing.

“Um, not, like, uh --- not the last bit.”

Chloe sighed and pushed herself away.

She sat up to rest off of the edge of the bed.

Max frowned, and sat up, but kept the distance that Chloe put between them there.

Though her body wasn’t happy about moving.

“Don’t lie to me, dude.”

Max bit her lip.

She never was all that good at lying to Chloe.

She looked down at the palm of her hand and turned it around to stare at it.

She could just fix this …

“I don’t remember all of it,”

Max carefully admitted,

“But I remember most of it? I just don’t remember coming home.”

Chloe was quiet for a while longer still.

Eventually,

“Nothing after the club?”

Max wasn’t sure how to process the gentleness of Chloe’s voice,

“Nothing.”

Chloe sighed and stood up.

Max suddenly realized she was naked, which was also incredibly unusual.

“I’m taking a shower.”

Max frowned.

“Chloe.”

But it was too late. Chloe padded out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, closing the door behind her with a pointed amount of force.

Max sighed and looked back down to her hand.

She could just …

She belatedly realized she too, was naked, and frowned out of confusion while she pulled some sheets up to cover herself to the nobody that was looking.

Max found her phone.

_Chloe is upset at me and I don’t know why._

Victoria replied almost immediately.

_What makes you think I care?_

Max had learned read between the lines of what Victoria said, by now.

Or rather, just entirely replace what Victoria said with what she _meant_.

_We went a club last night and drank and had fun and now she’s upset I don’t remember all of it._

Max hesitated, and then added,

_And also we’re both naked and that’s hella unusual???_

Once again, Victoria’s reply was immediate, though Max’s addendum did cause her some delay.

_First of all, **gross** , second, she’s upset at you for not remembering things and you’re both naked? Hello? Does this naive hipster bullshit ever stop? You guys obviously had sex (ew ew ew) and she’s upset you don’t remember it._

Oh god.

Not ---

Ughh.

Max hid her face in her hands and sighed deeply, heavily.

Perfect.

Just perfect.

Chloe had been waiting to have sex until the time was “just right”.

Max was still a virgin and Chloe didn’t want to “soil it needlessly”.

Or was, a virgin, anyway.

Max didn’t really mind it, since she didn’t need sex to have a fulfilling relationship with Chloe.

Her phone vibrated again.

_When did you start drinking anyway? And you didn’t snap me anything??_

Somehow, Max smiled gently, seeing the tiny glimpses of vulnerability.

_Last night._

She hesitated, before adding,

_And I was too busy making out with my **girlfriend**._

Max put her phone back down, anticipating Victoria’s response to be her routine disgust, and went back to resting her head in her hands.

This was not good.

Victoria’s theory made perfect sense but it wasn’t good.

No wonder Chloe was upset.

She was waiting, waiting, waiting, wanting everything to just be perfect ---

And Max couldn’t remember a second of it.

What’s more, it was Chloe’s own idea that “ruined” the night.

If Max hadn’t been drinking, she would have remembered it just fine.

And she only drunk when Chloe encouraged her to.

This was a perfect storm of bad conditions to bring out all of Chloe’s insecurities.

And just …

Fuck.

Max could fix this.

She brought one of her hands down.

And really scrutinized it.

If she just …

Rewound time again.

She could fix this.

She could make everything perfect.

Chloe would be happy.

But Max sighed.

Would she be happy?

Lying to her like that?

Pretending? Hoping?

Using, or, _abusing_ , her powers for something so trivial?

No.

After the storm, she told herself.

Never again.

Even if it was to save the thing she cherished so dearly, she wouldn’t have learned anything from that awful week if she just used her powers again.

No.

She needed to ---

“Max.”

Chloe’s voice, and it caught Max off-guard, since she didn’t even remember hearing the shower turn off.

She could get lost in her thought, sometimes.

Max carefully looked up to Chloe.

“Are you okay?”

Max sighed at this.

It must have been pretty obvious that Max wasn’t.

“I just wanted you to be happy.”

It came out so much more gentle than she intended it to.

Chloe exhaled, amused, and rubbed at the back of her neck.

“That’s funny. I just wanted _you_ to be happy.”

Max stood up, suddenly not caring that she was naked, and took Chloe’s hands into her own.

She knew what to say to this, at least.

“I am.”

She leaned forward, but had to stand up on her tippy toes to fully kiss at Chloe’s lips when they were standing.

“I had fun last night. And I don’t care what I do or don’t remember.”

Chloe was blushing again, and quietly smiling, looking down to the floor.

Quiet.

“Then I’m happy.”

The words were suddenly erupting and energetic, tied to Chloe's smile inexorably.

Max smiled.

Quiet.

“You’re happy that I’m happy that you’re happy that I’m happy?”

Chloe laughed, and shook her head.

“You dork. Let me be like emotional ... and shit.”

Max sighed and rested her head on Chloe’s shoulder and collar bones contently.

Living with Chloe was learning to deal with her swings in mood.

And enjoy the high points for all that they were worth.

 

 


	2. Pleasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe remembers last night.
> 
> She moans.
> 
> She cries.
> 
> She concentrates.
> 
> Later, she'll make a bet that she's going to totally and obviously win.

Chloe really looked at Max.

Not that this was in any way unusual.

They were both laying pleasantly in their bed.

Max had adjusted her routine somewhat to better suit Chloe’s, but she still got tired so early.

She was asleep, now.

It gave Chloe time to think.

In these quiet moments.

Max was beautiful, in every sense of the word.

Pure of heart, adorable in her own ways, genuinely enjoyable to talk to.

Chloe didn’t deserve it.

No – Max chose to be with her. That’s what mattered.

 _Ugh_. Chloe sighed and closed her eyes, raising a hand up to rub at her own cheeks and face.

She hated how her brain worked.

It was so fuckin’ shitty.

No matter _what_ , her edgy brain always immediately told her she wasn’t worth it.

Or she didn’t deserve it.

Or maybe that she should just get it over with, and jump off of a bridge, or something.

But she told herself that’s not who she was.

Not anymore, at least.

Not since Rachel, and Max.

She had other thoughts that would come after the negativity.

But it was hard to tell which side was the real her.

It was unpredictable as to which side would win any given scenario.

The subject of Max was an especially hard one.

She was everything Chloe could have been, were she not such a self-destructive idiot.

No – Max wasn’t perfect. She was a human like everyone else.

She _was_ beautiful, though, and her dumbass brain didn’t offer any rebuttals to that pleasant thought.

So very …

Chloe breathed in more slowly, and carefully lowered that hand that had been rubbing at her face.

She ran it down her own face, down her neck, and made gentle circles in her skin there while she thought further.

She thought of last night.

Which she of course ruined.

Max’s first time, and her dumbass couldn’t help but to ruin it.

Maybe not, though. Max certainly seemed into it at the time.

Too drunk to know better.

But no, she said she enjoyed it.

Maybe it was a lie, but Max was awful at lying.

Chloe would know.

Max did it enjoy it.

That thought was intoxicating.

Max enjoyed her.

Chloe enjoyed Max.

It wasn’t one-sided or brutally uncaring, like it was with the men in her life.

It felt more like time with Rachel.

But it was different, still.

Chloe’s hand roamed lower still.

It went underneath the fabric of her own night shirt and began to play along the skin of her sides and belly.

Rachel didn’t really love her.

Her words were a sweet, practiced honey, and her fingers more patient and skilled than anyone else’s.

But she didn’t love like Chloe did.

Chloe shook her head.

_Focus._

Chloe involved her second hand to rub along her own thighs to better help distract her mind.

Despite whatever Max got out of it, last night was still fantastic.

Max was just --- so fucking beautiful.

The way she really couldn’t do shots, but tried anyway, since Chloe wanted her to.

The way she nestled into Chloe’s side when she was catching up with her friends on her phone.

The way she looked up with that assuring smile.

_I chose you. I don’t regret it._

The hand about Chloe’s belly came up higher, and began to tease her own breasts.

The way Max’s hair got all sweaty and matted after they danced.

How did Max even see through it?

The way Max’s eyes danced when they were both laying down, too drunk and tired for words.

Max found some then, anyway.

_I need you._

It was just --- fuck.

Chloe thought she had more self-control than that.

She couldn’t mess this up.

But she couldn’t help herself.

Not with that severe a blush on Max’s face.

Not with Max’s mouth permanently gaping from her physical exhaustion.

Not with the way she moved to kiss Chloe.

After she pinched her own nipple, Chloe gasped quietly.

She had to control her own volume – Max was still sleeping.

But the memories were still so fresh in her mind.

They weren’t always going to be like this.

She could remember exactly the strawberry-flavored vodka, heavy on Max’s lips and breath.

 _Like gasoline_ , as Max would say.

Fuckin’ cute.

Chloe adjusted her position on the bed to get more comfortable.

She raised the hand near her breasts up to cover her own mouth – since she didn’t trust it anymore – and brought her lower hand into more positive contact with her groin.

She still had her panties on, but still.

She could feel how excited she was, already, in just thinking about the preamble.

Like she was a virgin of some kind, overimagining how satisfying her first time would be.

But Max wasn’t her first – not even her first woman.

Still, just the thought of Max wanting --- _needing ---_ her was dangerously exciting and arousing.

Chloe thought of how quickly she fumbled with her own phone to get a damn Uber on the way.

Since she was _not_ going to have sex in a fucking gay night club.

She had _some_ standards.

She could remember exactly just how Max’s hands moved along her sides during that ride back.

Their affections were so bold and shameless that the driver had little doubts as to their relationship, this time.

And he had no stupid questions to ask.

Their apartment was dark, then.

But it was okay – neither of them needed to see much.

Chloe didn’t remember exactly who dragged whom into their room and onto their bed.

But she did remember how Max kissed her afterwards.

It wasn’t like any of their kisses prior.

Sloppy, a little bit inaccurate, forceful.

But desperately erotic.

She bit at Chloe’s lip afterwards, tugged at it, and bit at her own.

Chloe really couldn’t handle how attractive she found Max when she bit at her own lip like that.

Chloe moved her hand under her own panties and her breathing became more labored.

She was smart to not trust herself to stay quiet, and happy that her upper hand muffled what refused to be silent.

Chloe could relive Max taking off her top and bra a thousand times and never get tired of it.

Even after all the time they had together, Max still crossed an arm in front of her belly and grasped at her other arm, looking away.

She was still self-conscious about her body.

But of course, this anxiety was silly.

There wasn’t a more attractive woman in the world to Chloe.

Especially not when Max settled in in front of her and looked up, with that blush on her face.

It was a look Chloe couldn’t help but kiss.

Even if she still had to fend off the idea that Max didn’t really want her kisses or affection.

But that didn’t matter to Max, of course.

She was beyond understanding of Chloe’s dumb brain.

Chloe’s breath hitched and her body swayed unconsciously.

It felt like her upper hand was going to leave marks on her face from how tightly it was bound to her face.

Chloe almost felt pathetic getting so excited so easily.

It’d probably be the kind of thing Rachel would laugh at her for.

But she had done everything she could to ensure that she wasn’t going to let her perverted desires ruin her relationship with Max.

She couldn’t mess this up.

She wasn’t going to mess this up.

Max wasn’t going to see her as some teenage boy that just wanted her for sex.

It wasn’t going to be like ---

“Chloe.”

In another state of mind, the word would have been startling.

But there really wasn’t any other voice Chloe wanted to hear, right now.

So Max’s voice was comforting, reassuring, even if Chloe didn’t want her to have woken up.

Chloe didn’t open her eyes, though.

She could feel Max close to her, anyway.

“Max.”

Chloe removed her upper hand and her voice came out so gentle and breathless.

Chloe was such an asshole for waking Max up.

But it didn’t seem like she minded much.

Especially not when Max’s hands came to Chloe’s sides, and she kissed Chloe directly.

It was that other kind of kiss.

The one Chloe thought was because Max was drunk and incapable of being soft.

Max bit at the bottom of Chloe’s lip afterwards.

Chloe moaned into Max’s affections, and wasn’t honestly able to tell what inspired it.

Max kissed her again, and again.

They weren’t all rough and forceful.

Chloe didn’t moan into all of them.

“I want you. Do you …?”

Chloe kissed Max, this time.

“Fuckin’ … yes.”

Chloe finally opened her eyes to see Max beaming at her, again.

But even with all of the affirmations, even with Max’s unsubtle affections, even with that _look_ in her eyes.

Chloe still couldn’t bring herself to touch Max.

She couldn’t mess this up.

Still, she had to do _something._

“I-I … um.”

Chloe blinked, and inelegantly brought up the hand she’d been masturbating with.

“I-I got a … head start.”

The intent wasn’t to show it off – Chloe honestly didn’t know what she was doing.

This surely couldn’t have been that sexy – Max wouldn’t want to know about ---

Max spared little time in moving forward and wrapping her lips around some of Chloe’s fingers.

Holy crap.

After sucking it clean, Max licked Chloe’s palm and moved to kiss her again.

Max pushed herself against Chloe’s body and grinded.

At the same time, she brought her lips to Chloe’s ear,

“Show me how to do that to you.”

_Holy crap._

If Chloe was excited _before_ there were hardly the words to describe how she was _now_.

And this wasn’t something she could really mess up?

Chloe nodded and slid her hands to Max’s shoulders, before following them down to her hands.

She guided them both into position – one at her groin, another at her breasts.

“You … won’t have to try … very hard.”

Chloe didn’t know where these words came from, since she certainly didn’t think she was capable of much speech now.

Still, they made Max giggle – she enjoyed the sentiment.

She enjoyed it.

She wasn’t going to make fun of Chloe’s sexuality.

Of course she wasn’t.

Max was into her.

Max enjoyed last night.

Chloe tried her best to show Max’s hands how she liked to be treated.

What patterns to use, what speed, what force.

It was harder than it should have been, because Chloe kept looking at Max and she just looked so fucking cute.

But she managed, anyway.

And soon enough, Max knew what to do.

Chloe laid her hands down.

And closed her eyes.

It shouldn’t have felt much different, logically, if Max was doing it to her instead of Chloe doing it to herself.

But it was.

It was unimaginably exciting to have Max go out of her way to learn Chloe’s body and her desires.

She could just picture Max with a dorky look of concentration while she tried to ---

_Fuck ---_

“Max.”

Chloe immediately lost her trail of thought, and moaned out the only name she ever wanted to.

She didn’t need to think of anything else, anyway.

Her breathing got more and more unsteady – and her body gyrated – and her hands just didn’t know what to _do_ but they didn’t want to be still – and everything was just ---

Max kissed her again.

Chloe gave everything she had into returning the kiss.

“F-fuck me, Max.”

Max’s attentions slowed – surely the greatest sin one could commit –

But this was only so that she could adjust her own position.

One hand left Chloe’s body – maybe to support herself –

The other then suddenly had much more force to work with.

_Fuck._

“Max.”

Chloe moaned it again, and in response, Max’s hand became even more righteous and forceful.

Chloe arched her back and stopped being able to form words at all.

They didn’t matter anymore.

Max kept her attentions up, diligently paying attention to whatever she could out of Chloe.

She didn’t slow down until Chloe slumped and flopped and groaned and sighed.

Until Chloe’s hands found Max’s body and she dragged her into a forceful hug.

Max squeaked – which was fucking cute – and Chloe gave her a billion and one kisses.

They were all sloppy and too poor for what Max deserved.

But it was what little Chloe could coherently give, right now.

Afterwards, Max just rested against Chloe’s body, and gave her time to recover.

Kind of.

Max was also devious, and her hands never fully left Chloe’s body.

She ran them wherever she damn well pleased, though mostly, mercifully, avoided her groin.

 

Eventually,

“I fuckin’ … love you, Max.”

Max placed a few gentle kisses along her cheek and jawline.

“I love you too, Chloe.”

But this was wrong.

Chloe had perverted Max.

Made her drink.

Gave her this impure urge to pleasure her like this.

Max didn’t want Chloe’s hands on her.

She just wanted to hear how much Chloe needed her.

To see just how pathetic Chloe was.

Max made an unpleased sound – some kind of grunt – and kissed Chloe again, this time on the lips.

It was enough to at least dislodge her from her negativity.

“You’re shaking.”

Chloe sniffled.

She was pretty close to crying, too, and couldn’t fucking figure out why.

Useless.

Max’s hands found Chloe’s, and their fingers interlocked.

Max kissed her for what had to have been the hundredth time that night, but this was one different.

Slow.

Calm.

Deep.

Gentle.

Reassuring.

Afterwards, she hardly moved an inch away, and just breathed against Chloe’s face.

She squeezed Chloe’s hands.

Chloe breathed in deep and tried to relax.

This was a request without words.

Max had figured out some manner to somewhat still Chloe’s anxieties.

Now, she wanted to know what was wrong.

They stopped needing words to communicate this some time ago.

“I don’t deserve you, Max.”

Chloe sniffled again, but Max didn’t rebuke this immediately.

Instead, she just listened.

“I’m just some fuck-up … burn out loser, who somehow found a way to … trick you.”

Chloe sighed.

“No – that’s not – I don’t really --- _ugh_.”

She tried to find some way to explain how fucking stupid her brain was.

“But like – I can’t --- I can’t even touch you without freaking out or whatever and you just --- …”

But she _had_ just gotten off not too long ago, and she’d have trouble finding a way to describe this even when entirely straight.

Max remained quiet, until she was certain Chloe wasn’t going to say anything further.

She brought one of Chloe’s hands up, and their hands rubbed at both of their cheeks in turn.

Max sighed patiently and gave Chloe one of her short, thoughtful kisses.

They had so many types of kisses.

“If enjoying your love and excitement is wrong, I don’t want to be right.”

Chloe groaned, since it was _such_ a fucking cheesy line or whatever but ---

She did kind of need to hear it.

Max then pulled away, and Chloe opened her eyes.

Her brain almost had the time to tell her she was a fucking idiot that had ruined the mood, but ---

Max was only pulling away to take off her night shirt.

_Oh._

She settled back against Chloe, but this time, in a more spooning position.

She brought Chloe’s hands to her front, and spared little time in guiding them to touch her as Chloe had guided her earlier.

“And I think you can touch me just fine without freaking out.”

And she wasn’t wrong?

Chloe didn’t feel anxious, magically, with Max’s body pressed against hers, and her hands roaming Max’s body in such invasive a way.

“S-so show yourself why you deserve me. Make me feel … g-good.”

Chloe could do that.

She didn’t know where the confidence came from for her to think that.

But she could do that.

 

By the time Max’s breathing was heavy and she first moaned Chloe’s name,

all of the anxieties had left Chloe.

She had nothing left but purpose.

Chloe was going to fuck her brains out.

And she’d remember it for as long as she lived.

Chloe would do anything to ensure it.

 

\---

 

Chloe had work the next day.

She had to call in some favors from coworkers just to get the two days in a row off for her time with Max.

She probably wasn’t going to get another day off for like, 9 days, or something stupid.

Goddamn capitalism or something.

Still, she felt … good.

In a way she hadn’t really in a long while.

 

After work, she found Max as she usually did, asleep on the couch.

She had the presence of mind to turn off her phone’s Bluetooth before getting near the apartment so it wouldn’t wake her up, this time.

She quietly closed the door to their apartment behind her.

On the kitchen counter, she saw some bills.

She frowned.

She put her bag down there and decided they could be dealt with later.

Without even bothering to shower or change her clothes, she carefully got onto the couch.

Her goal was sneak behind Max and spoon her without waking her up.

But Chloe was nothing if not ungraceful, and hardly got onto the couch before Max groaned and shifted around.

Oh well.

She completed her movements and got behind Max anyway.

She kissed at the top of her head before just relaxing.

Max froze for a little bit after the kiss, but then just melted into Chloe’s body and arms.

“Mmmmmm-morning. How was work?”

Max sounded tired, but she had every reason to be.

Chloe hummed thoughtfully.

“Pretty okay, for once. Dave wanted to know why I was grinning like an idiot all day.”

Max shifted around and tried to wake up some still-lethargic muscles.

“Dave’s the one who hit on you?”

Chloe scoffed.

“No, that was Francis. Francis doesn’t work there anymore. Dave’s the one who wears a pride bracelet constantly.”

Max hummed approvingly.

“Oh, right. What’d you tell him.”

Chloe got this stupid grin on her face, somehow.

She brought a hand to rub at Max’s belly, though through her night gown.

“That I fucked my girlfriend into the ground and she screamed out my name.”

Max laughed tiredly, distantly, and moved one of her hands to entangle with Chloe’s.

“Gross. You’re so gross, I swear.”

The words were disapproving, but her tone, though thick with fatigue, was still doting.

“Yeah, but, it’s how you talk to guys. And …”

Chloe kissed at the top of Max’s head again,

“It’s the kind of gross you love, anyway.”

Max sighed deeply and relaxed back into Chloe’s body again.

“Yeah …”

Quiet.

 

“Is there anything good on?”

Chloe scoffed, and looked away to the TV across their couch.

“Dude it’s like 3am. What do you think?”

Still, that didn’t stop Chloe from doing gymnastics to get the remote without disturbing Max’s position too much.

She turned on the TV and flicked through the channel guide.

“Oh, huh. _Good Eats._ ”

Max made another tired, approving sound.

Chloe changed the channel.

Max flipped herself around and kissed up Chloe’s neck to her cheeks.

She exhaled pleasantly on her face.

“You’ve been affectionate today.”

Max’s words sounded a bit less tired, now.

Chloe just shrugged, keeping her attention on the TV.

She’d already seen this episode like a zillion times.

But, still.

“I have? I didn’t notice.”

Max exhaled with a pointed amount of force.

Chloe could tell she had that _look_ again.

Chloe just groaned.

“So … maybe I want to kiss you more. Not a big deal.”

Max sighed contently and nestled down from Chloe’s cheek to her collarbones again.

“Bet you won’t be able to keep it up for a week.”

Chloe blinked.

She carefully peeled her attention away from the TV down to the lump of brown hair.

“Did you just make a bet with me, Caulfield?”

Max nodded slowly.

Chloe scoffed and just rolled her eyes.

“I am winning this bet _so hard,_ you have no idea.”

Max hummed happily.

Chloe then blinked again, being struck with a thought.

“What do I get if I win, anyway?”

Max pulled away just enough from Chloe’s chest to peer up at her with a knowing smile.

“Oh, I don’t know. What do you want?”

Chloe didn’t fully know what had gotten into Max for her to be making bets _and_ talking so playfully, but.

She wasn’t complaining.

Chloe returned the smile.

“I think I want …”

She moved her head to be closer to Max’s,

“… you …”

Max blinked and breathed in,

“… to do the trash for a week.”

Max closed her eyes, groaned, and shoved her face back into Chloe’s collar bones.

Chloe laughed and looked back to the TV.

After a few moments, she patted at Max’s back, and Max looked back up again.

“But seriously … I’m sure I’ll think of something … fun … for my _girlfriend_ to do.”

Chloe looked down.

They shared a smile.

Max kissed her on the lips, briefly.

This kind of kiss was a simple acknowledgement.

 

Chloe still had her troubles.

Her brain was just irreparably fucked, or something.

But.

At least when it came to Max.

It was easier to shove down that idiot part of herself.

And believe that she deserved this, somehow, someway.

Little things could go a long way, sometimes.


	3. Picture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> life is what happens
> 
> when you're busy making other plans

These days, Max usually woke up by someone else waking her up.

_Knock knock knock._

Today was no exception.

But Max was still weightless and uncaring.

She could just ---

_Knock knock knock._

Max groaned.

Maybe not.

Max opened her eyes and raised a hand to rub at her face.

She carefully shifted to the side of the bed and got up and off of it.

Chloe was still sleeping, since it took thermonuclear alarms to wake her up, but Max still didn’t want to risk it.

Thankfully, they only slept together in close proximity, but not entangled, for reasons such as this.

Chloe would have certainly woken up if Max had to remove her arm or something.

Max was still rubbing her face as she quietly padded out of the bedroom, into their living room, and to the front door.

She was seconds away from opening it when she realized she was naked somehow.

With a pained sigh, she put her forehead against the door.

“Just a second.”

Her voice was scratchy and unpleasant, but it’d be fine.

She turned back around, made her way back into the bedroom, and tried to find something to cover herself with.

She found her night shirt still in the closet, like she hadn’t even worn it at all last night.

No time to think on that, though.

She quickly put it on and quietly jogged back to the door.

When she opened it, her free hand was playing with her hair, trying to straight it out and get rid of some of the unruly bed hair.

_What._

Max blinked about a hundred times, as though she was trying on new eyes and thought they were deceiving her.

That was definitely ---

“ _Victoria_?”

Max didn’t even try to hide the naked shock on her face.

The hand in her hair even froze.

It definitely was Victoria who had been knocking, in her trademark power pose, with her arms confidently crossed.

Immaculately dressed, though her style had slowly morphed into business casual attire.

Since she was a Real Adult now with a Real Job.

Unlike Max and Chloe.

Victoria, for her part, just studied Max for a few moments, frowned, and sighed in that way that she did whenever it seemed like Max was causing her physical pain from how she acted.

“Were you expecting someone else? You look like a mess.”

Max blinked some more, and shook her head.

“No – I --,”

She breathed in, leaned against the door frame, and started scratching at her head with the hand that had been there,

“I wasn’t expecting anyone else. I just --- _what_ \--- what exactly are you doing here, again?”

Victoria moved a hand up to cover her lips and part of her nostrils for a few moments.

Then,

“I could ask you the very same question, you know.”

Max sighed wearily herself, and lowered the hand that had been on her hair to rub at her cheeks more forcefully. 

The shock that it was indeed Victoria had worn off, leaving just dozens of questions in its wake.

“As direct as ever. Come in, I guess. I need some coffee.”

Max turned around and walked into the kitchen.

Victoria followed her into the apartment and closed the door behind her.

Then, she just paused and examined, while Max took to making some coffee.

“This place is …”

Victoria clearly was paining herself for a word,

“… cozy.”

And the word she chose sounded foreign to her, like it was the time she had said it.

Max just scoffed.

She then realized it was too early to be making coffee, and got an energy drink instead.

She took a sip from it and gyrated her entire body, trying to wake up sore muscles and get her blood flowing.

“Being nice doesn’t suit you, V.”

Victoria sighed, and raised a hand up to rub at her temples.

“As though I don’t know that.”

Max smiled at this, at least, and finished off her drink.

“That’s better.”

Max walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.

Victoria slowly made her way into the living room, and chose to stand on the side of the coffee table.

Victoria looked around, again.

“Where’s your … better half?”

There she went, using words she didn’t know how to say, again.

Max continued to smile.

“Sleeping.”

Max then blinked.

“You didn’t come here to talk to Chloe, did you?”

Victoria closed her eyes and chuckled.

“J’accuse. Non. No. Nyet. Nein. Of course not.”

Max uselessly raised her hands up in surrender and melted back into the couch.

“What did you come here for, then?”

Victoria pursed her lips and hesitated again.

Then,

“I’m not allowed to visit my friends?”

Max committed Victoria calling her a “friend” to memory immediately, but rolled her eyes.

She then counted off the reasons that excuse didn’t hold water on a hand,

“You live in Seattle, you tell me how much you hate LA every time I mention I live here, you’ve literally never even mentioned that you had any interest in visiting me, you’ve told me how much you hate domestic flights, you’re still in college, it’s not even noon on a work day ---“

It was Victoria’s turn to raise her hands up in surrender.

Max went quiet.

“Okay, okay. Fine.”

She breathed in, closed her eyes, and opened them again.

“Max, are you still taking pictures?”

Max blinked, and then went quiet.

She broke her eye contact with Victoria and slumped forward a bit.

She brought her hands together to clasp them, and looked distantly to the coffee table in front of her.

It was a while before she answered, and her simple word was so drained of energy it almost sucked the life out of Victoria just to hear it,

“No.”

Victoria absorbed the word and carefully raised one of her hands up to rub at her chin.

“Max …”

Max scoffed and looked up to Victoria, but her face was just …

Blank.

“I lost my camera in the storm.”

Victoria stayed quiet for a little while longer yet,

“It’s been years, Max.”

Max shrugged.

“So?”

Max looked back to the coffee table.

This was, actually, a lie, but she had practiced it enough to fool even Chloe.

She just couldn’t stand to think of having more pictures around.

More things that might tempt her with her stupid fucking powers.

More promises of a world that was different.

Victoria hadn’t said anything in the intervening moments, so Max just looked back up, and then nodded vaguely towards the stack of bills on her kitchen counter.

Victoria observed them.

“Not everyone can roll in their family’s fortune. We’re just getting by, here. We don’t have the money for frivolous things like that.”

Max didn’t know exactly why her voice was so cold and uncaring.

Victoria slowly peeled her gaze back, and softened her posture somewhat.

Instead of crossing her arms, they just clasped in front of her.

She sighed.

“Photography wasn’t frivolous to you, Max.”

She raised a hand up to hold the side of her neck, while her other hand supported the first’s elbow.

She looked down to the floor,

“Neither was music or making friends or --- none of that.”

When Victoria looked back up, she walked towards the coffee table.

She carefully wormed her mini backpack off of her back – insisting on them over purses these days since they made her seem younger – and pulled out a gift-wrapped box.

She placed it on the coffee table.

They both just looked at it for a while, wordlessly.

Then,

“What’s that?”

Victoria sighed, and hoisted her bag back onto her back,

“Gee, I don’t know. A moderately-sized box I produced after you told me you stopped taking pictures because you couldn’t afford a new camera. There could be _anything_ inside.”

She crossed her arms again.

Her snark was so automatic and thoughtless.

It did make Max gently smile, for some stupid reason.

At least Victoria never changed after that stupid fucking storm.

“I can’t accept that.”

Victoria groaned and rolled her eyes, rubbing at her temples again.

“Just … cut the shit out for once for me, okay? Take the dumb thing and do what you do.”

Max stared at the present for a while longer.

Eventually, she picked it off the coffee table, and put it down next to her.

She looked back up to Victoria.

She didn’t have to begin to open it to know it was probably a fancy schmancy digital camera.

The kind that Victoria insisted on shooting on.

“Okay, but … I don’t have the time anymore to do that kind of stuff. With work, and, … Chloe, and …”

Max’s face cycled through a few expressions.

Victoria shook her head.

“Don’t lie to me, Max. ‘I don’t have the time’ is adult-speak for ‘I don’t _really_ want to’.”

Max groaned severely and hid her face in her hands.

She needed lying classes, or something.

This was just hella inconvenient to have everyone see through her so easily.

Eventually, she peeled her hands away, and looked to Victoria again.

“I dunno. I just …”

She sighed and leaned back into the couch again,

“Ever since the storm …”

Max looked to the pattern on her walls.

Anywhere but to Victoria.

Victoria, for her part, remained deathly silent.

“… it’s just been weird to think about that, I guess. Like it’ll bring the storm back or something. I was never very good at it, anyway.”

Victoria’s eyes had been closed.

She breathed out deeply, and slowly walked to sit down on the couch next to Max.

With some friendly distance between them, anyway.

“Max.”

Max looked back to Victoria.

Victoria wasn’t looking at her, though, finding their tiny pedestrian TV quite fascinating to observe,

“You know I’ve never been good at this … friend … thing …”

Max smiled pleasantly, but didn’t object,

“But I think …”

Max almost didn’t know how to process Victoria when she was pausing and unsure of her words.

It was certainly a different side of her.

That she only remembered since once or twice before.

“… that you know that’s a load of crap as much as I do.”

Max frowned, slightly, and crossed her arms.

“Excuse me?”

Victoria looked to her sidelong for a few moments.

She looked back forward, and pulled her mini backpack to her front again.

She spent a few moments fishing before she produced a manila envelope.

On the top of it was written in sharpie in Max’s handwriting, “edh contest”.

Victoria inelegantly shoved it in Max’s lap and huffed.

Afterwards, she leaned forward, resting her chin on one of her knuckles, with the other arm crossed.

“It would have won.”

Max looked down to the envelope, and of course recognized it, but.

It left her speechless.

“How … how did … you …”

 _Almost_ speechless.

Victoria scoffed dangerously and looked from side to side, fidgeting a little.

“Don’t be – an idiot, Max. If you hadn’t chickened out, I would have had my minions steal it from you.”

Of course, Max knew perfectly well that Victoria’s intuition on the picture was correct, and that in some other timeline, Max _did_ win the contest with this photo.

But she also knew that if Victoria _was_ planning on stealing it, she didn’t go through with it.

“I needed to win that, for my … _fucking …_ ego.”

Max blinked only about a million times, but still had so, so many questions about this whole ordeal.

The least of which was why Victoria kept it for years and years, and then brought it with her here.

“You were a better photographer then.”

Victoria inhaled sharply, sat up straight, and crossed both of her arms again.

She still couldn’t look at Max, though.

“And the best indication of future behavior is past, so … I think you’re probably a better one now.”

Finally, she looked to Max, but her expression was intentionally blank.

Still, from the tone of Victoria’s voice, Max could tell she wasn’t keeping all of her emotions in check, as she had prided herself in.

“Victoria, I …”

Victoria stood up, and turned to face Max.

“To answer your question. I’m here because my dad wanted me to find some starving artists in this … _creative_ … shithole, buy them up for cheap, and sell overpriced tickets to the idiotic hipsters over in Seattle.”

She then hummed pleasantly,

“Oopsie. I wasn’t supposed to say that last part.”

Her tone was bled dry of any remorse, though.

Max would have found it humorous, were she still not shell shocked.

“And I figured that was probably you, to a ‘T’. So. That’s what I’m doing.”

Max looked down to the envelope that had her old high school project and Victoria again,

“You’re offering me a job?”

Victoria exhaled, amused,

“I’m offering you a _one-time_ _commission_. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

Max still didn’t really know what to say, though.

“Victoria, I … really don’t know what to say.”

Victoria rolled her eyes and inspected her nails on one of her hands.

“’Yes’ would be a good start. ‘Thank you’ would be a good follow-up, maybe even ‘I can’t believe you’re being so nice to me, you’re such an amazing friend, I am so grateful that ---‘”

Despite herself, Max giggled tiredly.

She smiled.

And just for that briefest of moments, Victoria did, too.

 

But, of course …

“Dude. Did you hire a stripper or what?”

Chloe, standing in the door way to their bedroom, leaning on the door frame.

Mercifully, she was decent, in a night gown.

Of the two, she was more ‘free spirited’, and they rarely had guests over.

Max’s eyes were on Chloe for only the briefest of moments, because she saw a tremendous fire building up in Victoria.

_Oh no._

Max stood up –

Victoria turned around –

“On the contrary. I’m hiring your wife to get me some pictures for one of my father’s galleries. You can thank me later.”

Max stopped, though.

She looked helplessly to Chloe.

Chloe, for her part, was expecting pretty much any answer other than that.

And it left her to just blink a few times.

Victoria smiled pleasantly.

“Eloquent as always, Price.”

Chloe grumbled and crossed her arms, looking down to the floor.

She then looked to Max,

“Is that true?”

Max looked away and rubbed at the back of her neck,

“Yeah, I – I guess so. Kind of. Maybe.”

She then unconsciously jumped from a near-shouted,

“DUDE!”

Chloe was so fucking fast when she wanted to be –

Max hardly even had the time to process the word before Chloe was magically in front of her, dragging her into a hug, and then right towards Victoria.

Victoria was non-consensually added to the couple, so that one of Chloe’s arms occupied one of each girl’s shoulder.

Max had trouble keeping up, but she was pretty sure she’d never seen Victoria glare so viciously before in her life.

“Don’t ---“

Her interjection, though, was effortlessly overpowered by Chloe’s boundless energy.

“Fuckin’ Max – ugh – I knew you could – this is – I can’t believe – wow dude – this is like …”

Chloe went silent.

“Don’t forget to _breathe_ and _use your words_ , Price.”

Victoria chided Chloe like she was a tiny girl in elementary school, but Chloe shrugged it off effortlessly, just staring dotingly at Max.

Without warning and still with Max barely keeping up, Chloe kissed her.

It was forceful, but warm, and Max could feel Chloe softly bumping up and down, jittering still.

Victoria groaned painfully and covered her face with one of her hands.

Of course, the fact she hadn’t yet pulled away from Chloe’s embrace spoke louder to Max than anything else.

After she broke away from the kiss, Chloe pulled away from the two of them, and hopped and skipped into the kitchen.

“This calls for a celebration.”

Max sighed and shook her head, but she was smiling.

“Chloe, it’s not even noon yet, no.”

“Yes, listen to your girl, _some_ people have _things_ to do.”

Chloe stopped at the kitchen counter and looked back to the two of them.

She wrinkled her nose at Victoria’s words, but looked mostly to Max.

“Yeahyeahyeah fine … I guess. Just. Wow, man. I can’t believe it.”

Victoria rolled her eyes, and looked back to Max.

“I should go now. A moment outside, Max?”

Max blinked, still a little overwhelmed from the earlier sudden injection of Chloe’s boundless energy, but nodded.

“Yeah, sure, I guess.”

Chloe made an unapproving sound and pouted so very obviously in the kitchen while the two of them walked outside and into the hall way.

Before the door closed,

“Don’t _eat_ her! I need my girlfriend for things!”

Max couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

 

The door behind them closed.

Victoria sighed deeply, and turned to face Max again.

Her arms were still crossed.

“You picked a live one, Max.”

Max nodded quietly.

“Chloe’s my energy and light.”

Victoria rolled her eyes.

“Romantic. But of course. You know, when I heard you ran off with some _girl_ after the storm, I was …”

Victoria suddenly paused, and tried to find a word.

Max’s smile became wider, though,

“Worried?”

Victoria scoffed indignantly and shook her head righteously with her eyes closed,

“No, of course not, not in a million years. I was _interested_ in what kind of _woman_ would have _possessed_ you to go do such a thing.”

When she opened her eyes again, she just pursed her lips.

“I have to say, your taste in women is … eclectic.”

Max just continued to smile, smile, smile.

“Is this your way of telling me you approve of Chloe?”

Victoria groaned in that pained way again, and raised a hand to cover half of her face.

“It’s my way of saying … you could have done a lot worse.”

Max was positively beaming.

“Thanks, Victoria, that’s means a lot to me. Really.”

Victoria huffed.

“Don’t --- Don’t read too much into it, okay?”

Max still smiled, annoyingly.

“Anyway. You’ll do the work for me, yes?”

Max shrugged.

“I guess. You kind of guilted me into it by bringing it up around Chloe. There’s no way she’ll let this go.”

Victoria went quiet, for a little while.

She looked away, before back again.

“Good, that’s … good. It’s … good to have someone who can do that.”

Max looked down and rubbed at one of her arms, again.

“Yeah.”

It came out as a sigh.

“She’s the reason you’re out here, isn’t it?”

Max shrugged again, and slowly looked back up.

“Kind of. Mostly. She wanted to go somewhere that I could be … all artsy and stuff.”

Victoria rolled her eyes.

“Of course. New York or something would be too far.”

Max nodded carefully.

“And she thought she could find some good local music down here too, so … it wasn’t all self-sacrificing.”

Victoria raised an eyebrow, but didn’t challenge Max on that.

“It’s just so expensive, but …”

Max smiled again, somehow,

“I guess it worked out, in the end.”

Victoria breathed in and just barely smiled in that way she did.

“I guess it did work out.”

Victoria then shook her head, and cleared her throat.

“Anyway. I’m done here. Pleasure doing business with you, Miss Caulfield.”

She turned on her heel and started walking away, evidently not even caring for Max’s goodbye.

“Hey – wait – can I get like, a hug, or something?”

Victoria paused, and looked back.

“No.”

Max flinched.

“But. Tell you what. You get me some good pictures … and you can hug me all you want over some wine in celebration of your new art exhibit’s opening.”

Max couldn’t help but smile again.

“That sounds great.”

Victoria looked forward, again.

“Goodbye, Max.”

Max was probably going to snapchat her later on, anyway.

 

Back inside, Chloe looked so obviously bored, hunched over the kitchen counter, playing with one of those spinning fidget toys.

She stopped immediately when she heard the door close, of course.

“Oh, good. She didn’t eat you. I was worried.”

Max laughed softly, and walked over to the coffee table again.

She started to unwrap that gift.

Of course, it was as she thought – one of the more expensive digital cameras with an interchangeable lens.

Max jolted in surprise when Chloe’s hands suddenly came about her waist and hugged her tight.

“Wassit?”

Max breathed in deep to calm herself,

“A camera. Victoria bought it for me.”

Chloe exhaled at the back of Max’s neck in a scoff.

“Get out of here.”

Max smiled again, and put the gift box down.

She turned around and wrapped her own arms around Chloe’s back and waist.

“She can be nice sometimes. Just has to be … things, not emotions.”

Chloe grunted flatly.

“So you’re really going to do it? Take pictures again?”

Max groaned and rested her head on Chloe’s collar bones.

“Like – honestly – I really don’t --- it’s been so long – I have work – and – _ugh._ ”

Max melted against Chloe.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll have the time.”

Chloe went quiet for a few moments.

 

She then suddenly patted at Max’s back.

Max looked up to her.

“Screw work.”

Max blinked.

“Chloe ---“

Chloe silenced Max’s objections with another forceful kiss, and although Max protested and shook her head, she didn’t quite break way from the kiss itself.

Afterwards,

“Screw. Work. This is your dream, Max. We have enough money to last a few weeks. Maybe. You need to --- opportunities like this you need to just take.”

Max could tell she was losing this, but parts of her were still objecting.

“I don’t even know what I’d take pictures of…”

Chloe went quiet again.

She looked away, then down, then slowly back up to Max.

She spoke so softly.

“How about me and my band?”

Max blinked.

“You have a _band?_ Since when?”

Chloe smiled.

She was so cute when she smiled like that.

“I wanted it to be a surprise. Our first show is in some shitty dive in a couple of days but …”

She kissed Max again, and Max was really starting to like it when Chloe initiated the kisses,

“… I want you to be there, being our official band event photographer.”

Max smiled wide and blushed and looked down and exhaled in a chuckle and ---

“I guess I can’t say no to that.”

Chloe squeezed Max tightly enough to choke some of the air out of her.

Max squeaked.

Chloe giggled.

“No. You can’t. Your girlfriend demands it.”

 

 

 

Later on

they left their apartment

 

to take

pictures.

 

Max wanted more

pictures

of Chloe.

 

They needed to sleep

for work

but work

could wait.

 

they didn’t sleep.

they didn’t work.

 

It was symbolic

maybe probably perhaps definitely

that the first

picture

Max took since the storm

was of Chloe.

 

Later still

Max would look at the

picture

Victoria brought her.

 

from high school.

 

It had been folded up

and the fold lines were worn thin.

Victoria had evidently been keeping this on her person

for some time.

 

it was a nice

picture

after all.

 

“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans”

some creepy dude used to say.

 

he's dead now.

good riddance.

but the thought is still nice.

a broken clock, and all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


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